TACLOBAN CITY – Waray Wikipedia has already surpassed one million articles, nearly nine years after its launching, according to automatically updated Wikimedia data released on June 9. Waray, a language spoken by about 2.6 million Filipinos in Leyte and Samar Islands, is making headway in open-source online encyclopedia with over 1,009,000 articles. “As of 10 June 2014, the Waray-Waray Wikipedia has 2,113,585 pages, 77 active users, and 5,002,407 total edits,” the online encyclopedia reported. Launched in September 25, 2005, the Waray-Waray Wikipedia has included more than twice as many articles as the Tagalog Wikipedia, the main language in the country, according to the report. Wikipedia reported that on 26 August 2010 the Visayan language Wikipedia “passed the 100,000-article milestone, making it the 35th largest language edition.” The Waray-Waray Wikipedia is run by the Wikimedia Foundation, an American non-profit and charitable organization based in San Francisco, California, known for hosting Wikipedia, one of the top-ten most-visited websites worldwide. (SARWELL Q. MENIANO)
Brgy. Chairman arrested in a buy-bust operation in Guiuan town, E. Samar
TACLOBAN CITY- A barangay chairman in Guiuan town, Eastern Samar was recently arrested by government operatives in a buy-bust operation. Nabbed was Nestor Cunanan, 49 and married, at his house in Barangay 3 of the said town, Liza Baoy, information officer of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) said. “Being an elected official, he is considered to be a high value target. Of course, he denied the allegations against him as he claimed that the shabu seized from his possession was just planted,” Baoy said. Seized from the suspect was a sachet of shabu (hydrochloride methamphetamine) weighing 0.1453 gram. Cunanan is now detained at the Guiuan municipal police station as charges for violation of anti-drug law or Republic Act 9165 were filed against him. (JAG)
Incidents of “akyat-bahay” hit Yolanda-affected Leyte town
TACLOBAN CITY- Mayor Susan Ang of San Isidro, Leyte reported of series of incidents of houses being burglarized seven months after supertyphoon Yolanda hit their town. Ang said that after she received reports of these separate incidents, she right away called the town police chief to conduct a thorough investigation by identifying the perpetrators and file appropriate charges against them. “These incidents are not alarming but I will not allow the people of San Isidro being victimized to burglary and their houses being ransacked while they are sleeping, “the town mayor said. She said that she ordered the S/Inspector Jimmy Balasanos, town police chief, to conduct check point to protect the people against the perpetrators. Mayor Ang said that based on information relayed to her, three houses were already victimized by the perpetrators carting with them personal belongings, cash and gadgets like laptops and motorcycles of the victims. Board Member Alan Ang, former mayor of the town and husband of the incumbent chief executive, said that he was shock when he learned on the string of incidents at their town. He said that police authorities have yet to identify who could be behind to these incidents. But he board member said that based on the raw information he obtained, the perpetrators were not from the place but from Ormoc City. Board Member Ang said that based on his information that he received that the suspects in from Ormoc city and they are contacted in this municipality but the local police are in blank of the investigation. “We will make sure that the perpetrators will be identified and face appropriate charges. The people are still reeling from the effects and Yolanda and now they are again being victimized by these individuals,” Ang said. (LITO A. BAGUNAS)
With master plan still under review by Palace Rehab works in Yolanda-hit areas to start next week
TACLOBAN CITY – Full implementation of post-Yolanda rehabilitation plan will be delayed for another week from its original June 15 target, pending the approval of a master plan by Malacañang, said Presidential Assistant for Recovery and Rehabilitation (PARR) Panfilo “Ping” Lacson. Lacson said Cabinet members will make a final review of the master plan on June 13, incorporating new proposals. It will take a week for President Benigno Aquino to approve the blueprint prior to implementation. “It will be delayed by one week, but we’re still on track. It’s better to rebuild back better than to hurry up. We are on the side of caution,” Lacson told reporters at the sidelines of school groundbreaking project funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) on June 9 at the San Fernando Elementary School, this city. Until this week, different clusters are still vetting figures from new proposals of local government units. “ We want to converge numbers and address discrepancies. All expenditures should be properly vetted before the President’s approval,” Lacson said. The official said that rehabilitation activities in the central Philippines have been ongoing, but it’s not yet massive since only a small fraction of the overall funds have been downloaded by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM). “Once the plan is approved, we will start downloading funds. We cannot do it without approved rehab plan. It’s like the General Appropriations Act,” he added. On May 30, Cabinet members signed a P105 billion rehabilitation and recovery master plan stemmed from consolidated proposals from the local governments of Tacloban, Leyte, Samar, and Cebu. Proposed plans from Eastern Samar and Iloilo will be reviewed by Cabinet members this week, according to Lacson. The PARR office has sent a team of technical staffs to provinces of Antique, Aklan and Biliran to help local government units (LGUs) prepare proposals and program of works. “This is with the help of USAID. We ask that a portion of their rebuilding fund will be used for technical assistance to LGUs,” he added. (SARWELL Q.MENIANO)
Youth dances their way to show all is not lost after Yolanda
TACLOBAN CITY–Seven months after supertyphoon “Yolanda” slammed the region, at least 100 young people in Tacloban City joined in a dance music video that was launched on June 8, urging government leaders to look on their condition. Dubbed as “Rise up to the top”, the music video, uploaded in the popular video-sharing site You Tube, aims to bring the message to the world that children and the youth in the devastated communities need attention and support. “This is our way of expressing ourselves that despite the tragedy, we haven’t lost hope and that we can still rise above the situation. Dancing is also a form of therapy for us,” said Ervie Nicolas, senior leader of Tacloban’s popular dance group Zero Gravity and co-producer of the music video. “The reason we are coming up with this video is to tell the world that the young victims of the typhoon still need help. We feel that they are not a priority in the recovery efforts of the government,” he said. Archie Omega, Tacloban’s top photographer and videographer at Pixel 8, said the music video is also a form of an advocacy campaign from the youth in the city. Supertyphoon Yolanda devastated Eastern Visayas on Nov. 8, 2013, killing more than 6,000 people and displacing 4 million others based on report of the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council. (RONALD O.REYES)
Group launched “Bread of Hope Bakery” at the Tacloban City Jail
TACLOBAN CITY – The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) together with the Prison Fellowship International Philippine (PFIP) inaugurated the “Bread of Hope Bakery,” a project that could provide livelihood income for inmates at the Tacloban City Jail (TCJ) on June 3. Silvestre Alforque, PFIP president, said that this is the first time a project like this was implemented in the region. “This will not only help our inmates in the holistic approach on rehabilitation but including their families,” said Alforque. He said that the undertaking will be of big help to the inmates once they are released from the jail facility considering that they are now equipped with skills which they could use to earn income. Alforque said that they could see the project will become self-sustaining in three months after its launching. The Swiss Solidarity funds the project. Alforque added that they want to provide dignity to the inmates by teaching them skills on livelihood training instead of giving them dole- outs. Vice Mayor Jerry “Sambo” Yaokasin, who was among those who witnessed the opening and the signing of the memorandum of understanding between the BJMP and PFIP, the Bread of Hope Bakery would not only provide food for the inmates but also provide them the bread of God’s grace. “I hope that in this therapeutic community you will find hope and the real bread of life who is Jesus Christ,” Yaokasin said. Jail Superintendent Elmer Riel, assistant regional director for administration of BJMP, said that he project fulfilled his dream when he was still the warden of the jail facility. “I support this project when this was presented to me but there were problems that hampered for its implementation that included the physical structure of the jail; the emotional well-being of the inmates and looking for fund for the project,” Riel explained. “I did not expect for this to materialize. I am very thankful to the PFPI for helping the jail management to look for funding for this project,” he added. He urged the inmates to support the TCJ officials to ensure the success of the project (ROEL T. AMAZONA)